6. Message from the New Chairman of the Users Executive Committee
(A. E. Champagne)

The last time that I served as chair of the UEC was 1995-96 -
before operation of the HRIBF started. It was a rather
abstract experience. Now the science at the HRIBF has reached
the stage where it's necessary to think about how the facility
should evolve. This comes at a time when budget constraints
have had a real impact on productivity throughout the
community. I look forward to working with the HRIBF to address
both the concerns of the present and plans for the future.

A number of HRIBF users have expressed concerns about the
reliability of the run schedule at the HRIBF, which is shared
by the facility management. This issue was examined by the
UEC. We considered the current situation at Oak Ridge in
comparison with our experience at other facilities, drafted a
number of recommendations, and discussions were held with the
HRIBF management. There is general agreement that budget
compression has taken a toll, for example, it is not possible
to maintain a 24/7 repair staff and only selected spare parts
are available. Nonetheless, it was also agreed that steps
could be taken within the current budget reality. One
improvement that will be implemented shortly is the creation
of a "RIB Specialist" position. This person will have the
overall responsibility for the delivery of a beam to an
experiment and will also serve as the facility contact person
before and during an experiment. There have also been
discussions related to operational efficiency. The general
state of the budget will continue to be an
impediment. However, we feel that the current situation will
be improved in the near future.

As many of you know, there have been news rules and
restrictions regarding computer usage. Robert Varner reports
that the impact of the new DOE rules and the various
laboratories' interpretations and adaptations are in a state
of flux and their impact to the facilities, including HRIBF,
is not yet clear. There is considerable uncertainty over how
the research needs of the users can be accommodated, but it is
clear that we will have to live with this new reality.

Finally, planning is underway for a workshop on physics with
the proposed electron driver. Stay tuned for details.